PTA Reacts to New Corporal Punishment Report

August 20, 2008 - The numbers in the report released today (“A Violent Education: Corporal Punishment of Children in US Public Schools") by the Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union are shocking and unacceptable.  In fact, National PTA staunchly opposes violence of any kind in schools. 

We teach our children that violence is wrong, yet corporal punishment teaches children that violence is a way to solve problems.  It perpetuates a cycle of child abuse. It teaches children to hit someone smaller and weaker when angry.  What’s more, these lessons are taught not only to the child being harmed but also children and adults who witness this violence. 

There are a number of studies and research that cite the negative affects of corporal punishment.  For example, the Journal of School Nursing, Vol. 18, No. 6, 346-352 (2002) included a report called “Reconsidering Punitive and Harsh Discipline” by Wanda K. Mohr, RN, PhD, FAAN, and Jeffrey A. Anderson, PhD.  The study stated: “There is overwhelming evidence that harsh interventions are damaging to children, both emotionally and physically. The effects of such trauma may be compounded when a child has preexisting learning difficulties. When schools respond to these challenges using harsh methods, children can be further traumatized.”  

Another example is a Joint Statement on Physical Punishment of Children and Youth, developed by a national coalition of organizations in Canada, facilitated by the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario.  Based on an extensive review of research, the Joint Statement provides an overview of the developmental outcomes associated with the use of corporal punishment.  It states: "The evidence is clear and compelling - physical punishment of children and youth plays no useful role in their upbringing and poses only risks to their development. The conclusion is equally compelling - parents should be strongly encouraged to develop alternative and positive approaches to discipline".  The Joint Statement was first published in 2004 and has been reprinted each year since.

Parents, policy makers, and education officials agree that schools should provide safe and nurturing environments for all students and teachers.  PTA will continue to urge our state and local units to work with local school boards and other school governance bodies to adopt policies and develop disciplinary procedures which will result in positive behavior of students and to utilize techniques which are not based on physical abuse.  

There are numerous alternatives to corporal punishment that have proven to be effective.  The best way of dealing with school misbehavior is by preventing it. Schools with good discipline not only correct misbehavior but also teach appropriate behavior and coping skills.  Alternatives teach children to be self-disciplined rather than cooperative only because of fear.  Alternatives to corporal punishment include emphasizing positive behaviors of students, realistic rules which are enforced consistently, parent/teacher conferences about student behavior, use of staff such as school psychologists and counselors, detentions, and in-school suspension.

So what can parents do? They can get a copy of your school’s discipline code and any policy that deals with how and when corporal punishment can be administered.  Make sure that these guidelines serve to protect students and the school community from violent behavior and that such behavior is tolerated in any form.